Friday, December 15th, 2000
10:00 AM
Minnesota Partnership to Improve End of Life Care

Minnesota Commission on End of Life Care Public Policy Sub-Committee

Attendees: Bonnie Wendt, Dept. of Health; Kay Markling, Dept. of Health; Ellie Hands, MHO; Kathleen Cota, Dept. of Human Services; MaryAnn Stump, Council of Health Plans; John Diehl, MN Bar Association; Linda Norlander, MN Partnership; Mark Leenay, MMA; Karen Gervais, MN Center for Health Care Ethics; Dianne Bartels, U of M Center for Bioethics

Notes: Brenda Paul, MN Partnership

Quick review of small group meeting from the November 9^th Commission on End of Life Care meeting:

At the November 9, 2000 Commission meeting the group broke into 4 small groups (access, standards, education and public policy) and each small group was charged with selecting one issue around which a recommendation could be made.

The Public Policy Small Group decided to focus on the issue of barriers to accessing hospice and palliative care.

A bill will be introduced into the Minnesota State Legislature. This bill will state that Minnesota supports quality end of life care for its citizens. Funding will be requested to study two aspects of end of life care: pain control and access to end of life services in rural Minnesota.

• This bill will be a preliminary bill. The request to study pain control and access to end of life services will produce a report that will lead to a more significant legislation proposal for the legislative session in 2002.
• The 2002 legislation will include an item that addresses asset spend down in MA patients
• Two legislators will be asked to author the bill and the Commission will endorse it.
• The money requested would be designated for management by the Department of Health.
• Strategies on ways to ask legislators to author/sponsor this bill might be stories by patients and families or demonstrated rural disparities in end of life services.

Tasks for the Public Policy Small Group and the MN Partnership Staff:

• Mark Leenay and Kay Markling will talk to Commissioner Malcolm and inquire as to the feasibility and timing of this issue.
• Kay Markling will ask Commissioner Malcolm if the requested money and the report that would be produced with that money could rest in the Department of Health.
• Mark Leenay will write up a draft bill and present it at the Commission meeting on January 9^th.
• Linda Norlander will look into both the non-profit and Robert Wood Johnson rules about lobbying/legislation involvement by the Commission or the MN Partnership.
• Staff will research which legislators might be receptive to sponsoring a bill on end of life care.

Meeting adjourned at 11:30 AM

Next Meeting – To be determined